to confine his practice to the diagnosis and treat- ment of diseases of children, and thus he may be considered to be the founder of the specialty of pediatrics in that country. A small, thin, wiry man, Still cultivated some eccentricities and remained a bachelor, devoted to his mother. It was while he was only a registrar that he published his article,
“On a Form of Chronic Joint Disease in Chil- dren.” Later in his career he had an extensive practice that included the children of the British royal family.
College for an essay entitled “Bacteria and Their Influence Upon the Origin and Development of Septic Complications of Wounds.” The following year he performed the first public operation in the United States using Lister’s antiseptic technique.
He was an important influence on the introduc- tion of antiseptic and aseptic technique into oper- ating theaters in the United States.
After the death of his beloved wife in 1876, his work became his life. He made significant contri- butions to the technique of abdominal surgery, popularized the use of plaster of Paris splints for the treatment of fractures, and described a method for the reduction of posterior dislocations of the hip. His book on fractures and dislocations, first published in 1883, was preceded by a translation of a series of lectures, mostly on fractures, given by Gosselin at La Charite.
Stimson was an important and influential figure in the New York surgical community, and he had a significant role in the development of the Cornell University Medical College. His son, Henry L. Stimson, held positions in the cabinets of Presidents Taft, Hoover, and Franklin Roosevelt.
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Who’s Who in Orthopedics
Lewis Atterbury STIMSON
1844–1917
Lewis Atterbury Stimson was born in Paterson, New Jersey. His family was of old colonial stock, and his father was a successful stockbroker who counted Jay Gould and Jim Fisk among his acquaintances. Stimson graduated from Yale in 1863, just in time to see active service in the final period of the Civil War. After the war, he married and went to work as a broker on Wall Street. In the next few years, he became interested in the study of medicine, perhaps because of the chronic illness of his wife, who had become diabetic. In 1871, he took his family to Paris to seek help for his wife and to begin his medical education. At this time, he studied with Pasteur, Nelaton, Gos- selin, and others. Returning to the United States, he obtained his medical degree from Bellevue Hospital Medical College in 1875. At graduation he was awarded the Wood Prize of the Alumni Association of Bellevue Hospital Medical
Frank STINCHFIELD
1910–1992
Dr. Stinchfield had made the most outstanding contributions to the unique 125-year history of the New York Orthopedic Hospital. He combined the qualities of a superb clinician who developed
numerous advanced techniques, particularly in the treatment of the spine and the hip, with a gift for leadership that transformed not only New York Orthopedic Hospital, but also the practice of orthopedic surgery, both nationally and internationally.
Dr. Stinchfield was one of two sons of Charles and Mary-Frank Stinchfield, and was born on August 12, 1910 in Warren, Minnesota. His father managed a grain elevator company and there was no history or succession of physicians in his family, but by the age of 12 Dr. Stinchfield knew that he wanted to become an orthopedic surgeon.
Like most young boys, he enjoyed playing sports and was fortunate to have never suffered any serious injuries. Playing sports helped develop his fascination with bones, and he became commit- ted to the idea of healing, researching, and explor- ing bones in a medical and scientific capacity.
This early commitment not only sent him to medical school, but also won him the support of doctors, who saw his talent and were happy to make funding for his education possible (he grate- fully paid back his benefactors in full less than 1 year after he began working as a full-time ortho- pedic surgeon).
He received a BS in Medicine in 1932 from the University of North Dakota after transferring from Carleton College, and received his MD in 1934 from Northwestern Medical School in Chicago. He remained in Chicago, and began his internship, and later residency, at the Wesley Memorial and Passavant Memorial Hospitals. He spent some time at the Campbell and Mayo clinics and even briefly worked with the illustri- ous Mayo brothers.
In an effort to explore beyond the Midwest, and train under renowned East Coast orthopedic sur- geons, Dr. Stinchfield traveled to New York in 1936 and did 1 year of residency on the fracture services at the Columbia Presbyterian Hospital.
Little did he know that he was to devote over 31 years of outstanding service to that institution. He impressed his instructors and the senior attend- ings as being bright, talented, and amiable, but grossly underexposed. He was chosen for a trav- eling fellowship throughout various clinics around the United States and Europe. This was the beginning of his exposure and insight into other orthopedic surgical techniques and method- ology, as well as other cultures. While in Europe, he trained under Sir Reginald Watson Jones, Sir Harry Platt, Dr. Lorenz Böhler, and Dr. Vittorio Putti in hip, shoulder and replacement surgical
techniques. The year abroad turned out to be one of the most exciting and educational periods of his life, as it coincided with the outbreak of World War II. Dr. Stinchfield recalled having his American identity concealed by his hosting doctors on more than one occasion in order to avoid potential problems throughout his Euro- pean travels.
Despite the danger seen during his travels, Dr. Stinchfield felt compelled to join the Allied Forces in Europe, and between 1942 and 1946 his medical services were enlisted to the army of the United States. This second excursion to Europe was both stimulating and horrific as he witnessed some of the worst wounds seen in his medical career. Many of the bloodiest casualties were seen while he was running the American Army Field Hospital in Oxford, Britain. He was promptly pro- moted from second lieutenant to colonel and commanded the 826th Group Hospital and the 307th Station Hospital in the European Theater of Operation. As one of two physicians tending medical needs during the liberation of Buchen- wald, he was asked to be the orthopedic consult- ant in the Surgeon-General Headquarters to the Allied Forces in Europe. By 1946, he had been decorated with a Legion of Merit, First Bronze Star, European Theater Operation Unit Citation, and Second Bronze Star. During Dr. Stinchfield’s army service, his wife, Margaret Taylor Stinch- field (whom he wed in 1939), supported the Allied Forces as a liaison to the British lend-lease program.
Dr. Stinchfield’s active military service ended in 1946, and he returned to the United States, where he began his attendance and associate professorship at New York Orthopedic Hospital.
Ten years later, he was promoted to professor and chairman of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery and director of the hospital. He was elected president of the American Academy of Orthopedics in 1963 and the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery in 1964. In 1968, he presented Sir John Charnley’s hip replacement technique to the hospital, thereby establishing it as one of the few American hospitals to offer such an operation to patients. This dedica- tion to research of the hip helped motivate his founding of the Hip Society, USA in 1969, where he served as president until 1972, when he was elected president of the Presbyterian Medical Board. He later founded the International Hip Society in 1975, where he also served as president.
324 Who’s Who in Orthopedics
Who’s Who in Orthopedics Dr. Stinchfield was awarded Honorary Fellow
by the Royal Australian College of Surgeons in 1976, and Honorary Fellow by the Royal College of Surgeons in 1979. In 1977, he became presi- dent of the American College of Surgeons. He served as liaison between the orthopedic commu- nity and Congress while serving as orthopedic adviser to presidents such as Harry Truman. By the 1980s he was on the Presidential Advisory Committee on National Health to President Ronald Reagan.
Almost 100 articles by Dr. Stinchfield, prima- rily on hip replacement and arthroplasty, were published by the time he retired. His teachings not only set new and higher standards in orthopedics, but he was also instrumental in the ultimate devel- opment of some of the world’s finest surgeons and leaders in the field of orthopedics. At least seven of his students are known to hold chairman posi- tions at major hospitals and universities in depart- ments of orthopedics.
At the age of 82, Dr. Stinchfield died on December 1, 1992 after experiencing cardiovas- cular difficulties. Appropriately enough, he passed away at the Columbia–Presbyterian Medical Center, where he had served as the distinguished chairman of the Department of Orthopedics and director of the New York Orthopedic Hospital for 20 years (1956–1976).
Dr. Frank Stinchfield’s memory is immortal- ized in his contributions to orthopedics and medi- cine. He continued to remain active in his field and life until stricken with illness in 1989. The orthopedic community owes much of its infor- mation and advancements to his commitment and talent. His family, students, and patients owe much of their hope, passion, knowledge, and best times to his warmth and kindness.
325
Robert Ingleton STIRLING
1896–1970
Born to the manse in Edinburgh on July 15, 1896, Robert Ingleton Stirling, “R.I.” to so many, learned early the ideals that ruled his life.
His entry into medicine was delayed by the First World War. He was commissioned into the Machine Gun Corps and commanded and fought with an independent unit. He remained interested in the care of wounded ex-servicemen, and during the Second World War was orthopedic surgeon to Scottish Command.
He graduated in 1924. He gained a Blue for hockey and was always interested in sport. Woe betide his house surgeon if he could not immedi- ately give him on arrival at a hospital the latest score in the current Test series. He excelled at golf and each year represented the Scottish colleges.
He was a man of the mountains and the outdoors, and the Cuillin of Skye was his haven for many years, but he loved all Scotland. Traveling with him anywhere in Britain, but particularly in Scot- land, was fascinating, for one was regaled with endless tales and legends of the country traveled through. He was an immensely cultured man. He used to read far into the night and the diversity and extent of his reading was extraordinary. He could talk well on almost any subject.
His bent was surgery and he became a clinical tutor to W.J. Stuart at the Royal Infirmary in Edin- burgh. Stuart was a gentle, quiet and compas- sionate surgeon. The two men were in many ways similar and Stirling acquired an admiration and devotion for his chief. In 1929 he was awarded a
